Work Text:
The door to the Mike Room opened with a hiss to reveal Battat, mask already off and a dead-tired look plastered on his face.
"Heya, Boss!" Jongler paused whatever game they and Pluey were playing on the TV, looking up at him from where they sat on the couch. "How'd the shift go?"
Battat grunted, already trudging towards the coffee machine like they hadn't even said anything.
Tenna had been running him ragged all week, demanding that everything be perfect for their next big holiday show. Battat had been writing scripts, running rehearsals, balancing audio, running all over the studio, pulling an unreasonable amount of all-nighters (even for him), all just to make sure it all got done! Not that any of the effort he put in even seemed to matter, since Tenna just scrapped nearly everything Mike had been working on in favor of some improv-heavy gameshow instead!! Weeks of planning, all down the drain!
It wasn't all going to be improv though, because of course it wasn't. Tenna wanted Mike to plan the whole trivia section for it!! And by tomorrow, too!!! Ughhh, like Battat didn’t have enough work to do already…
Battat looked at their selection of coffee pods. He didn’t like to rely on them too often, but he’d probably need another double-shot espresso if he wanted to finish everything before tomorrow. He threw one into the machine and closed the lid with a slam.
Jongler winced slightly. "Dat bad, huh? Well, you could always join me an' Plues' if you's needin' a break or somethin'." Pluey scooched over, patting a spot on the couch for Battat to join them. "Tenna's been workin' us all way too hard lately, anyhow. Might be good for ya to just be able ta take a breather for a second."
Battat could feel the two staring as he waited for his coffee to finish pouring. Not that he cared, he was too distracted by his mountains of work and an ongoing headache to pay attention to whatever they thought about his work-life balance right now.
As the machine sputtered out the last couple of drops, Battat grabbed it and took a swig before making his way over to his office.
"...I have to work on some stuff for the show tomorrow, so don't bother me," Battat said, slamming the door behind him before his coworkers could get the chance to respond.
As soon as he closed the door, Battat tore the rest of his suit off, throwing it across the room. He felt like he was going to pass out if he had to wear it for any longer. Not that taking it off really seemed to help, his head still pounding as he gripped onto the desk for support.
Forcing himself up, he looked down at the mess that was his desk. "...Well, no time like the present, I guess," he muttered to himself.
He didn't have the time to be taking a break. As annoying as it was, he was carrying basically the whole studio on his shoulders at this point. When Battat wasn't busy working as Mike, he'd be working backstage as himself, or on his conspiracy theory board to try and find the actual Mike.
Yeah, he had the other two's help, but it wasn't their responsibility, it was his. He preferred things that way, anyways; he dug this grave when he first started hunting for Mike, and he'd be the one to lie in it. So what if he'd been running on a total of two hours of sleep for the past 48 hours? So what if he lived off of nothing but coffee most days? So what if he was never thanked for ANY of it, any of the work he put in, as Mike or as himself? Breaks were for losers, anyways! Battat was better than that—Mike was better than that!! Always there, never not there, that's what he always said! He'd just power through it like he always did!
With an odd burst of confidence at the thought, Battat threw himself down at his desk (slightly too fast, sending his head reeling for a moment before he caught himself) and started jotting down ideas for the themes of all the trivia questions. Just plain old Christmas facts would be too bland, maybe he could do something about holiday foods or candy or something? Ooh, or Christmas movies, Tenna would like that one...
The spike of adrenaline only carried him so far, though. Even with the coffee, soon enough Battat's vision started getting fuzzier and fuzzier. As the hours passed by, thinking started to feel more and more like he was trudging through mud, and he kept almost drifting off mid-thought. He was still shaking and breathing heavily too, despite the fact that he'd gotten out of the costume ages ago and had been sitting down for a while now. And his stomach hurt. He really was experiencing all the wonders of life, wasn't he?
"I need some more coffee..." Battat muttered to themself. He'd still barely made a dent into all of the trivia he needed to write. If he kept going at this pace, he wouldn't even have enough time to work on his conspiracy board before the start of their morning shift...
A semblance of a thought formed in the back of his mind. Maybe you should just ask for help.
Battat instantly shook their head at the thought, wincing at the slight headache it gave him. No, that was stupid!! He couldn't just bother the other two with something like this! It was his responsibility anyways, and he could do it alone. He always did, and he liked it that way! All he needed was something to push him along and he could get back to work, and everything would be perfectly fine!!
But as Battat tried to stand up, more dark spots clouded his vision. He stumbled a bit, catching himself as he braced himself against the desk. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...
But before he could counter his own inner-monologue about how he could definitely just power through this anyways, his legs buckled out from underneath him, and everything went dark for a moment as he went careening face-first into the floor.
After Battat slammed the door shut, Jongler looked back down at Pluey.
"...Must've been a really bad shift, huh?"
Pluey sighed in response.
Jongler knew Battat had the tendency to overwork himself. It's how he got tied up in the whole Mike business in the first place, and it's why it took him so much convincing to let them help him out with it. Whether he was pulling all-nighters working on his theory board or refusing a shift change even when he obviously needed one, the Pippins barely ever took the time to take care of himself.
Jongler and Pluey tried to help as much as they could, of course, but they could only do so much. Even as the three became closer, Battat still pushed them away in favor of locking himself up in his office and working on whatever he thought was most important at the time. Jongler admittedly kind of admired how passionate the Pippins would get over his work, but they didn't like to see it at the cost of his own health...
Jongler sighed. There wasn't a whole lot they could really do about it right now, anyways. At this point, they both knew better than to try and force Battat to take a break when he got this bad; it usually just made things worse. Plus, he had just outright ignored them this time, not even having the energy to get angry at the two like he normally would whenever they'd suggest he take a break. They probably wouldn't get through to him even if they tried...
"...Welp," Jongler said, breaking the awkward silence. "Ya wanna finish up dis level, buddy?" The two turned their attention back to the game Jongler had brought in, some multiplayer platformer they found in the back of storage. It wasn't anything too difficult, but they were all done with their shifts for the day, anyways, which meant the two had a bit of time to wind down and have some fun.
Pluey nodded, reaching over to unpause the game. Though Battat still sat at the back of their minds, they got back into the groove of things, speeding through the game at a relatively fast pace. Jongler eventually pushed down their worries, just having fun gaming with Pluey as the hours passed by.
A loud thunk from the other room brought those worries all rushing back, though.
Jongler and Pluey shared a concerned look. Battat hadn't come out for a couple hours at this point, and he already looked exhausted even before he went in. The Pippins was probably just slamming on his desk in annoyance like he always did, but still...
"...Boss, you’s okay in there?" Jongler eventually called out.
No response.
"Boss?" Jongler's brow furrowed. Usually the Pippins would already be yelling at them about how everything was 'perfectly fine' by now. This... probably wasn't good.
Pluey grimaced before jumping up, dashing over to the door and bursting through as Jongler followed suit. Normally the boss didn't like them coming into his office, but checking up on him seemed more important at this point.
Their worries were confirmed as the two walked in to find Battat face down on the floor, groaning as he struggled to get up.
"Ow." Battat said to himself, rubbing the back of his head as he finally managed to sit up.
"...You okay, Boss?"
Battat blinked up at them, only now seeming to notice the two's presence.
"I'm fine, just... fell down a bit." Using the wall as leverage, he finally got himself up on his feet, though his legs still looked a little wobbly.
"Y'sure about that one, boss? You, uhh, don't seem like you's doin' so hot." When they said that, they meant it. The Pippins' dark circles were even deeper than they normally were, and they were shaking, too, though whether it was from the fall or the lack of sleep it was hard to tell.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't have to be rude about it." Battat replied dismissively as he dusted himself off. "Just need to grab some coffee, then I'll get back to work. Don't worry about it—"
But as he took another step, he stumbled, Jongler grabbing his arm as he nearly faceplanted a second time.
Pluey looked at the dazed Pippins in annoyance, gesturing at all the empty mugs scattered around the office with a pointed look.
Battat simply shot an annoyed look back. "...What? I've been needing more coffee than usual to stay focused, that's all."
Pluey huffed, grabbing a blank sheet off the desk and scribbling something down.
"Really, I'm fine." The Pippins wrenched his arm away from Jongler as he regained his posture, shooting the two a glare. "Like I just said, I'm just going to go to grab some more coffee, don't worry about it—"
Pluey interrupted him, holding up an accusatory note.
[When's the last time you've had anything to eat/drink other than coffee? ≽(˕‸ ˕マ≼] ]
Battat stopped in his tracks, seemingly having to pause as he thought hard about the answer.
"...Two days ago. Had a water and TV slop for lunch."
Jongler and Pluey stared at him in horror. Battat, now seeming to realize that maybe that wasn't the most normal thing to say, tried to double back a bit, looking nervous under the twos' gaze.
"N-now I know that doesn't sound great... But I'm fine, really!! Just haven't really had the time to take a break, it's no big deal! I didn't even notice until now that—"
Pluey interrupted him, shaking their head in disapproval at the die's poor attempt to defend himself before dashing out of the room.
Jongler heard the door to the Mike room open and shut. They must be running to grab some snacks from the nearest vending machine. Good call, they definitely needed to get Battat something to eat, even if it was just one of the crappy TV dinners Tenna sold at the studio.
Jongler looked back at Battat, the Pippins still sweating from all the attention (and probably also the fact that he was basically running on fumes at this point). They knew Battat got fixated on his work to the point of neglecting himself pretty often, but this seemed like a lot even for him...
Jongler sighed. "...And when's da last time you's slept?"
Battat scratched the back of his head, glancing away again as he responded.
"...Also 2 days ago."
"Batts’." Jongler shot him an exasperated look.
Battat looked away stubbornly. "I've just been busy, okay? Tenna's been more demanding than ever, and I haven't had the time to do any of that stuff!! There's more important things I need to focus on right now, that's all."
Jongler looked at him, disappointed. This was how these conversations always went with him. Battat would just brush off their worries about him with some excuse about work and immediately try to jump back into action. The worst part about all it, though, was that Jongler knew Battat genuinely believed that this stuff was all more important than his own health.
"Y'know you're prolly stumblin' because ya haven't slept or eaten in forever, right?
Battat didn't respond, instead glancing back towards his desk with an annoyed look.
Jongler followed his gaze towards the mess of papers.
"...Look, how much work do ya have? I can get some done while ya rest up a bit."
Battat immediately snapped back, waving his arms around. "No, don't worry about it, it's—"
"How much?"
Battat sighed, grumbling. "...A whole trivia section. Due tomorrow. Tenna's orders."
Jongler internally winced at the workload, but kept a straight face. "What about all dat stuff you'd been workin' on before?" They were genuinely curious. Battat had been working on the holiday show for a while now. It was surprising to see him willingly change plans so easily.
Battat groaned. "Tenna threw it all away. Said we needed something more "groovy," whatever that means."
If Battat didn't strangle Tenna someday, Jongler absolutely would. "I swear to da love o’—" Jongler stopped themself. "...I'll do it. Yous needs ta take a break."
He stepped backwards towards his desk, almost defensively putting himself between Jongler and his work. "Like I said, I can do it, just give me a sec to—"
"Nope." Jongler picked Battat up like a cat before he could do anything else. "Takin' yous to the sofa. We's waitin' for Plues' to bring back some food, then we's gettin' to work on da trivia for ya."
Battat struggled against them for a moment but, clearly exhausted, his remaining energy faded quickly as he fell limp in the Zapper's arms. He huffed, resigning to just look as annoyed as possible as Jongler carried him to the living room.
Battat grunted as the Zapper set him down on the couch
"I feel like I'm gonna throw up. Or pass out again. Or both, honestly."
"I wonder why dat is." Jongler said sarcastically, before letting out a sigh. "Look, Boss, yous gotta let us help ya out before ya let things get dis bad. It's no fun seein' ya work yourself ta death like this."
Battat looked down, not responding.
Jongler sighed, sitting down on the couch next to him. They didn't miss the fact that Battat confirmed he passed out earlier. Not that it was hard to guess, based on the circumstances, but that didn't mean it was fun to think about...
The two sat in silence for a moment before Battat finally spoke up.
"...I just don't get it."
"Hm?"
Battat hesitated before speaking again, avoiding the Zapper's look.
"...Why are you two doing this all for me? It's my responsibility, not yours."
"Oh, dat." Jongler thought for a moment. "Well, it's not like we ain't Mikes, either. We can't just leave ya hanging like dat!"
Battat glanced back over at them before forcefully looking away again, annoyed. "I'm the one who received the work though. You guys handle your shifts, I handle mine. You guys... intervening like this, it just doesn't make any sense."
"Have ya considered dat maybe we care about ya?"
"..."
A few moments later, Pluey burst back in, holding an armful of TV Dinners and a couple waters. That was a sweet thing to add, it would've had to fight the water cooler for those.
Pluey clearly looked relieved to see Battat on the couch instead of still in his office. Sternly, they pointed at the food, then Battat, before pushing it all onto his lap.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Battat sat up, grabbing a vegan steak out of the pile and tearing into it like a starving dog.
Jongler laughed. "Just make sure not to eat too fast. Don't wanna make yourself sick or nothin'."
Battat, somehow already half-way done with the dinner, took a break for a sip of water. "Pluey, you are genuinely a life-saver. I didn't even realize how hungry I was..."
Pluey perked up, looking proud of themself.
"We should prolly get ya some real food, too, later. I'll make sure ta cook breakfast for us in da mornin', make sure yous actually eat." Jongler patted Battat on the head, then looked back up at Pluey. "Oh, and Plues', I was gonna help da Boss with his work if you wanna help too! I know ya like brainstormin' an all dat anyways, and we's gotta get a set of trivia questions done by t'morrow." It was still an insane deadline, but Jongler knew Pluey was good at coming up with ideas for that sort of thing, so it hopefully shouldn't be too bad.
Battat snapped back to look at Jongler. "Wait, I can work on it now! You guys don't have to—"
Pluey shot a glare at the green Pippins as Jongler interrupted him. "Nope. You can sleep out here if ya want, but you's definitely takin' a break, whether you like it or not."
He started to stand up. "But I can at least—"
"Pluey, get 'em."
Pluey threw themself onto Battat's lap, trapping them on the couch before they could get up with a smug look.
"Hey!!" Battat struggled for a moment before shooting Jongler a desperate look. "Can you help me out a bit here?!"
"No can do, pal. We're helpin' ya out whether ya like it or not. Ya cover for us all da time, so it's our turn ta cover for yous. An eye for an eye an' all dat."
Battat grumbled. "Isn't that usually used for revenge plots and stuff?"
"Well, yous can just think of it as our revenge for ya workin' yourself to da bone, then." Jongler chuckled, rubbing his head playfully before letting out a sigh.
"...Seriously though, we's don't like seein' ya neglect yourself like dis, Batts'. You needs ta take care of yourself more." They started stroking his head more comfortingly.
Battat leaned into the touch for a moment, closing his eyes.
"I just—" his voice broke, and Pluey snuggled in closer. "I don't know. It just doesn't feel worth it. I haven't even done anything to deserve it yet."
"You's been workin' on the holiday show every day for the past week, though! Dat's gotta be worth somethin'."
“But I've got nothing to show for it! Tenna scrapped it all anyways, none of it was good enough!!" Battat blurted out, wrenching himself away from Jongler.
He took a deep breath, gathering himself together before continuing. "...I've gotta make up for it somehow. I'm the one who got myself into this whole mess in the first place, anyways. I can't just slack off and make you guys do all the work."
"...Ya don't have to do it all solo, though. We's here for ya." Jongler hesitated, before reaching out to hold Battat's hand. "And hey, even if ya still don't think yous did as much as ya could've, so what? Dat doesn't mean ya don't deserve to eat or sleep or nothin'."
Battat looked down.
Jongler sighed. "Both me and Plues' don't mind pitchin' in, y'hear? Even if ya don't think you need it. We care about you a whole lot, even if ya don't realize it, and neither of us wanna see ya crash and burn. You just gotta ask."
Battat finally looked up at Jongler tentatively. "That's... stupid."
"...No it isn't."
"Hm." Battat hesitated, then fell into the Zapper's side, clearly exhausted. The three sat there for a moment in silence, Pluey snuggling in closer as Jongler put their arm around Battat. Eventually, his breathing slowed and his eyes flickered shut.
Jongler spoke softly.
"Sorry, Plues’, can you go grab da work he already started on? I don't wanna wake 'em up."
The Shadowguy nodded, slowly picking himself up so as to not wake up Battat, then snuck his way over to the office.
Jongler sighed. The Pippins was usually in denial about most of his problems, but they hoped they got through to him this time. They really did care, even if he never seemed to fully believe it.
Pluey came back with the notebook in tow, sitting down on Jongler's other side as they leaned back in for more cuddles.
Jongler chuckled at that before reading some of the ideas Battat had written down. Honestly, most of them weren't that bad, just needed to be refined a bit. They might be staying up a bit later than they expected to, but...
Jongler looked over at Battat's sleeping figure.
…It would be worth it.